1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to a comestible cleaning process, and it more particularly relates to a method of cleaning delicate comestibles such as eggs to avoid or greatly,reduce the possibility of breakage or damage during the cleaning process or transportation.
2. Background Art
There have been a variety of different cleaning processes for different types and kinds of objects to be cleaned and containers or the like for confining objects. For example, reference may be made to U.S. Pat. Nos. D 283,363; 2,528,404; 2,793,761; 3,760,823; 3,794,053; 3,935,958; 4,056,114; 4,058,233; 4,830,200; 5,404,610; 5,453,039; 5,456,357; 5,660,784; 5,850,542; 5,858,116; and 5,876,513. As disclosed in the foregoing patents, such processes and apparatus relate, at least in part, to emersing a porous container in a cleaning solution, or the possibility of different materials for corrosion resistance spraying a cleaning solution onto the objects to be cleaned.
When it is desirable to clean delicate comestibles such as eggs, foregoing patented processes would not be entirely satisfactory. It is undesirable to emerse the eggs in a harsh cleaning solution, which may be effective to remove debris but could damage the delicate egg shell, or at least be an undesirable pollutant being applied to it. Furthermore, such cleansing solutions may cause damage to the container. Also, the high pressure spraying processes for cleaning utensils and other objects in a washer such as a dishwasher, would not be acceptable for use in cleaning easily damaged eggs.
One simple technique or expedient for cleansing eggs has been to employ an open top wire frame basket for collecting the eggs, and then spraying the eggs in the wire basket to dislodge debris and the like for an initial or superficial cleaning process. However, the wires forming the basket can damage or crack the delicate egg shells when subjected to the spraying of a liquid such as water under pressure against the wire basket. In this regard, the eggs can be moved about within the basket and against the hard wires forming the basket. Also, the wire can deform inwardly through use and engage the eggs to damage them during transporting of the eggs.
Such a cleaning technique is not very thorough or complete, since the eggs are closely spaced and compacted within the wire basket. By spraying the eggs through the openings in the wire basket, the water under pressure does not thoroughly and completely come into contact with all or even an adequate number of the eggs in the basket. Thus, it would be highly desirable to have a new and improved method for enabling a more thorough and complete cleaning of the eggs or other delicate comestibles with little or no damage to the objects being cleaned.
The prior known wire basket is also used for transportation of a quantity of eggs stored therein. Damage to the eggs moving or bouncing against the wall of the wire basket can also result during the transportation or movement of the eggs.
Also, according to the prior known wire basket cleaning technique, the eggs moving about within the basket during cleaning or transportation can cause the wire basket to be bent out of shape by bending inwardly. Thus, the inside dimensions could be changed to cause fewer items to be stored, and even more importantly, the containers cannot be readily nested for storage.
Furthermore, the wires forming the basket can rust, and the rusty wires coming into contact with the comestibles stored therein are highly undesirable and unwanted. The rusty container being repeatedly subjected to a water spray can cause undesirable rust stains on floors or other supporting surfaces for the basket during storage. Moreover, the oxidized or severely corroded wire containers can become structurally fatigued and thus breakage can occur and damage to the contents.
Thus, it would be highly desirable to have a more thorough cleaning method which does not result in damage to the container, or the surrounding area, and which is safe for cleaning delicate comestibles.